You Can't Start a Fire Without a Spark
by pinklotus
Summary: Greenlee's plan to spy on David backfires when her old feelings for him are rekindled. Does David share her feelings or is he playing a game with her? And what will happen when Ryan finds out? Ch.3-"Greenlee's Reflections" is up.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1- "The Plan"**

"I have the perfect plan to find out what David is up to," Greenlee announced when she and Ryan were having breakfast.

Ryan's face contorted into a grimace, as it always did when David's name was mentioned (even though he himself was always bringing up how they needed to "take David down"). "What are you talking about? I've been investigating him- I've broken into his office three times already. I'll get to the bottom of whatever that symbol you saw in your dream was."

Greenlee sighed. It was impossible to talk to Ryan in a rational way when the subject was David."But that's just it, Ryan. You've broken in three times and haven't found anything. David is too smart to just leave incriminating evidence around. We need to go deeper and let's face it; he's not going to let you get that close to him. I, on the other hand, have a perfect excuse."

"Meaning what?"

"I can tell David that I'm experiencing pain and numbness and that I might be relapsing. He'll have to take care of me. He won't want anything to happen to his brilliant work," Greenlee bitterly shook her head. She thought David loved her and cared for her, but now it seemed that he'd only saved her in order to further some medical experiment he was doing. It hurt her more than it should have, and she pushed it to the back of her mind.

"I don't like the idea of you being alone with him," Ryan said. "He's still in love with you."

Greenlee laughed. "He's not, and he never was. He wanted to play God; he always wants to play God."

"It's true he wants to play God but he also really did love you, and I'm afraid of what he might do to get you back."

"Nothing! He'll do nothing! He doesn't want me back!" Greenlee raised her voice in exasperation. "Don't worry, I can handle myself."

Greenlee got up and went to get dressed to go to the hospital.

She couldn't wait to set her plan in motion.

David was looking at the papers for the Orpheus Project when Greenlee knocked on the door.

Putting the papers in his briefcase he said, "Come in," and then smiled when he saw it was Greenlee. It was a bittersweet smile, one he seemed to always have on his face when he saw her these days. Greenlee never knew if it was a mocking smile or if he really felt remorse.

"Well, to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from Mrs., Lavery?" he asked.

"David, can we spare the sarcasm today? I have something important to talk to you about."

David immediately stopped smiling and looked worried. "What is it?"

"I've been having some pain-"Greenlee began.

"Pain? Where? he interrupted her and quickly moved from behind the desk to get closer to her.

"In my back," Greenlee answered; somewhat surprised that he seemed so alarmed.

"What kind of pain? Is it sharp? Dull, throbbing, what? How long have you had it?" David fired question after question at her, looking more anxious with each one.

"David, please! You're not exactly making me feel reassured! It's sometimes sharp and sometimes throbbing, but it's there more frequently now." She lowered her eyes and bit her lip as though she were afraid of what she was going to tell him next. "I've-been feeling some numbness in my back and legs also."

David looked even more alarmed at that and reached out to touch her.

She moved back instinctively.

"I'm going to have to touch you if you want me to examine you," he said.

"I know that. I just don't want you touching me when you're _not_ examining me."

"Fair enough," he said, although she could see disappointment and what she could almost swear was hurt in his eyes. "If I treat you no one can know. Not even Ryan. I don't have my license back and I'm not interested in going to jail ever again."

Greenlee pretended to think it over and then nodded her head. "When should we start?" she asked.

"There's no time like the present," David said. "Lock the door and lie down on the couch."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-Forgotten Touch Remembered

Greenlee gave David a pointed look. "How are you going to be able to examine me here?"

"This is just a preliminary exam, Greenlee. I want to get a feel for where the pain is so I can tell what could be causing it."

"Fine," Greenlee went to the door and locked it.

"Now take off your blouse and lie down on the couch. I promise I won't look at you undress," he said.

"Very funny," Greenlee said. "Turn around, please."

David gave an exasperated sigh and turned around, saying "You know Greenlee; I've seen you completely naked many times, both as your doctor and your husband."

"Don't-"Greenlee started to say.

"I know. Don't call me your husband. But I was, you know. And no amount of pretending is going to change that."

Greenlee lay down on her stomach and said, "Just get on with it, please."

David turned around and drank in the sight of Greenlee lying on his couch. She looked so sexy, even though she was laying face forward on the couch and he could see nothing but her back. He'd always thought her sexy, and sensual, and he had to take a deep breath to steady himself before he attempted to touch her, sure that his shaking hands would give him away.

He let his fingertips trail down her body, starting at her neck and letting them travel down her spine. He checked to see if she reacted with pain or discomfort, and when she didn't he let his hands roam over her back, kneading her muscles, touching her in a way that was almost a caress.

Greenlee inhaled sharply and David quickly asked, "Does it hurt there?"

Greenlee nodded. It wasn't true- it didn't hurt, but she had to cover her reaction to his touch.

She'd forgotten how warm his hands were, and how the tenderness in his touch made her feel.

He kept going, and Greenlee kept moaning as he touched her.

She could feel the warmth of his breath as he rubbed her neck and shoulders, and she shuddered.

"What? Did that hurt you too? I hardly touched you there," David asked in a worried tone. If she was feeling pain in her neck that could be a sign of spinal damage.

"Just- just a little," Greenlee lied. She was confused as to what she was feeling, but it was not pain.

He lightly caressed her hair as he let it fall back down her shoulders. He leaned forward and whispered, "You'll have to pull your skirt down a little so I can check your lower back."

Greenlee pulled down the skirt very slightly, causing David to laugh a little

"I'm afraid you're going to have to lower it a bit more if you want me to examine you," he said, teasingly.

Greenlee laughed, and for a moment she remembered what if felt like when she and David were friends. The easiness, the caring and the closeness they always shared.

She shook her head. That was a long time ago, and David was a different man then.

Wasn't he?

His hands seemed to heat up as they pressed on her back, alternately massaging and probing.

His hands gently touched the curve of her ass, and Greenlee stopped him. "What are you doing?"

"This is part of your lower back, Greenlee," he said. His voice still had that teasing quality to it as he went on. "Remember that I am a doctor, Greenlee. I am used to this."

"Yeah, well, hurry this part up, please," she said.

"Why are you so uncomfortable?" he laughed gently. "Could it be that you still find my touch arousing, even just a little bit?"

"No- I don't. Not even a little!" Greenlee sat up and turned around, forgetting for a moment that she was only wearing her very revealing lace bra.

David's eyes were drawn to her breasts and Greenlee could see the desire she remembered so well in his look.

She hurriedly picked up her blouse and put it on, asking "What's the verdict?" as she did so.

David didn't answer for a moment, and then he said, "I'm going to have to run some tests, but I am a bit concerned about the location and severity of your pain. I need to see you for tests as soon as possible, like tomorrow."

Greenlee nodded and looked at him with what she hoped resembled fear. "Am I going to die?" she asked.

He cupped her face in his hands and said, "Not a chance. I won't let you."

She reached up to remove his hands, but found her own hands lingering for a moment over his.

"Thank you," she said as she fought to keep herself from crying.

She ran out the door and down the hallway, finally sitting down.

She was going to have sort out her reaction to David before she saw Ryan later.

David sat behind his desk, replaying the scene in his mind.

He was worried about Greenlee, frightened for her in fact.

No matter what happened between them he couldn't help worrying about her.

He couldn't help the fact that in spite of everything he still loved her.

He thought he'd put it behind him, pushed down the feelings and denied them every time anyone asked about Greenlee.

Hearing that she could be relapsing, that she could be in pain- scared him more than he wanted to admit.

Then seeing her like that, lying on the couch with just her bra on top brought back many memories he'd wanted to forget.

Feeling her skin under his fingers, feeling her body under his hands brought back even more.

He thought- maybe she had felt something too.

Greenlee could lie and hide as well as he could, but one thing they'd never been able to do was lie to each other about their feelings.

She'd felt something.

That's why she was flushed and warm.

That's why some of the moans escaping her lips sounded like moans of pleasure.

Leaning back in his chair, David smiled for the first time in a long, long time at the thought that Greenlee might still have feelings for him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3-"Greenlee's Reflections"**

That night Greenlee lay in bed, unable to sleep. She kept replaying the scene with David in her mind, uncomfortably aware of how she'd reacted.

She'd always thought David was a sexy man. She didn't think of being with him sexually of course, because first there was Leo and then when Leo died she'd been so consumed with grief that all she could think of was ending her life.

Greenlee remembered how David had tracked her down and stopped her from killing herself when she went to the falls where Leo had died.

She'd been determined to end her life, sure that she'd never find love again, feeling very much alone and empty.

Her family was not around, as usual.

Not even the death of her husband could cause them to drop what they were doing and be with their daughter.

Only David was there for her, talking her down, telling her she wasn't alone in her grief and she wasn't alone in her life. He was there for her, and he always would be.

And he HAD been there. There was another time she wanted to kill herself, when she'd begged David to give her something so she could end her life. He wouldn't, and he'd held her while she broke down and cried at the loss of the love of her life.

He was there for her even when he'd had his own tragedy-the loss of his daughter. Greenlee felt the tears running down her face when she remembered how much he'd loved his little girl.

Greenlee got up and made herself a cup of chamomile tea, hoping to calm herself down.

As she sipped her tea she thought of her long and complicated relationship with David.

How he'd helped her when Ryan pretended to die and she mourned the loss of another husband. How he'd helped her try to get pregnant until she learned she couldn't carry a baby to term.

How he'd helped her when she found out the baby that Kendall was carrying wasn't Greenlee's.

She thought of how he'd saved her life.

That thought made her almost drop her mug on the table.

He'd saved her life! He'd saved her figuratively and literally.

How the hell did things go so wrong between them?

She'd gotten so freaked out when Erica disappeared and she'd heard that David had the mechanic rig the plane. She'd let herself believe he'd meant for the plane to crash, and even after she realized how ridiculous that was, she still couldn't bring herself to trust him again.

And why not? She felt responsible when Erica's plane went down, when they thought she could've died. But really, that wasn't David's fault. Only Ms. "I'm Erica Kane" would tell the pilot there would be no inspection because she was in a hurry. And only an irresponsible pilot would've gone along with it. Or more likely, one who was intimidated by her attitude.

Everyone was telling her she was brainwashed by David so often that she'd started believing it.

Then of course, the fact that she still had feelings for Ryan hadn't helped matters. She knew how paranoid David was about losing someone he loved, how he hated to feel abandoned and powerless.

She knew because she was the same way, and for the same reasons.

Both of them had been abused and neglected by their parents-David's mother had actually been insane and his father committed suicide in front of him. Her parents left her to her grandparents and never had time for her. Her mother was verbally abusive and neglectful, her father was just neglectful.

David had no siblings living with him when he was growing up, and Greenlee had none either.

For all intents and purposes they had raised themselves, and the lonelier they felt the more they tried to hold onto the people who were in their lives. After a while it had become "by any means necessary."

So she shouldn't have been surprised when David blackmailed her to get her to stay with him. He was wrong, but it wasn't like she wouldn't have done the same thing if the situation was reversed. She would've done that and then thought she'd be so wonderful to him he'd want to stay.

Of course they both knew intellectually that those kinds of things never work out. How many times had they both tried manipulating people to keep them only to find themselves being pushed away even further?

But the heart is not always rational, and she and David reacted like animals protecting their territory when their hearts were in danger of breaking or were broken (even if David would never admit it, Greenlee knew he did the things he did because of his heart).

There was no defense for David faking his own death, whether he'd intended Ryan to be the one arrested or not. She was the one on trial for her life, and she'd almost lost.

In any case, whether it ended up being her or Ryan, no one should've had to stand trial because he'd staged his death!

Greenlee got angry all over again when thinking about that.

Then she remembered the pain in his eyes when he said what he'd heard from everyone in town when they thought he was dead and she softened, just a bit.

"David, why do you have to be so damn complicated?" she asked the ceiling. "I can't hate you although I've tried, and I can't love you-but yet, I did love you. I wasn't lying when I said that. It just wasn't what you wanted. And that's partially my fault. I shouldn't have pushed to marry you when I knew I still loved Ryan. You did warn me, and for that I'm sorry. But there were times- I swear there were- when I loved you the way you loved me. I didn't feel alone then," she sighed. "And what was today about? Why did I feel the way I did when you touched me? Was it just sexual, or do I-is it possible that I can still have feelings for you after all that's happened? Ryan thinks you still love me, and so does Kendall. I'm beginning to think they're right. Now the question is: "How do I feel about you?"

She felt guilty even pondering this. She and Ryan had fought so hard to be together.

Why was it so hard though? She knew relationships weren't easy, but why should hers and Ryan's always be so damn hard?

Sometimes she felt so alive when she was with Ryan. She'd feel so good about herself and her life because Ryan loved her.

But there'd be times, many of them in fact, when she knew she'd disappointed Ryan. He didn't accept her faults like David did. "Whoa", she said aloud, "where the hell did that come from?"

It was true, though. David did accept her, and he never judged her. Ryan sometimes acted like he was a saint and she was some kind of sinner.

Well she knew she was no saint.

But she also knew Ryan wasn't either.

She could accept and forgive Ryan's "sins", though. Accept them, and him. She even accepted him sleeping with Kendall and then moving in with her right after what they thought was her body was "identified".

Alright, she hadn't forgiven him at first, but she did eventually. Even though she would never have done that. She didn't jump into bed with anyone when she thought Ryan was dead.

She'd mourned him.

She could understand grief sex, but grief causing him to want to move in with Kendall? She'd found out that he didn't even go down to the pier when Jack scattered her "ashes" to the water. He told Jack he'd "moved on."

Now Greenlee found herself getting angry at Ryan all over again.

Sighing, she finished the tea and took the mug to the sink to wash it.

Why did everyone make allowances for Ryan? All the time? "He's a good man," she'd told David a long time ago. She'd meant it then, and she still meant it. But something had changed after he'd come "back from the dead", and no matter how hard she tried to say that wasn't true-she knew in her heart it was.

This obsession with David was just another example of Ryan's need to be the hero, even at the expense of his relationships. If she wasn't with him on this quest to "bring down David" she'd probably never see him.

And it wasn't just about justice. It was as much about Ryan's anger and need to feel in control as it was about righting wrongs.

They were all screwed up in their own ways, Greenlee thought, smiling a little at the horror both men would feel at being compared to each other and hearing there were any similarities between them.

Now the question remained. Did she want to continue this game with David or should she just back away.

She shook her head. It wasn't even a question, really.

She was going to see this through.

Hopefully her heart _and_ her marriage would survive.


End file.
